Month: August 2016

Just follow Dale road until you find Lower Dale Farm nestled in the heart of the Goyt valley. You will feel miles away from home with only a 5 minute journey – what could be better than that! They have a range of Spa treatments available and lots of fun things for the kids to do!

Typical structured working environments based on the nine-to-five working day are slowly disappearing, with more people choosing to work from home. There are interesting differences between areas, not least in Marple and The Bridge, with 5.8% of people now working from home instead of in an office. This is 1.3% higher than in the North West (4.5%) and 0.4% higher than the national average (5.4%).

The number of sales that take place in an area is an important indicator of the state of the market. In the last year 4.7% of the total private housing stock changed hands in SK6. This compares with 4.8% in the region and 5.2% nationally. That means that the local market is slightly less liquid than the national market.

Well it has been an interesting year and the market has certainly had to jump a few hurdles to keep moving forward – with Brexit at the heart of a lot of uncertainty nationally and locally, the drop in the sterling, and London’s market taking a hit in July. Whilst the Chancellor’s prediction of a drop of 18% in house prices was slightly out, we have seen the London market see a drop (not as high as 18%) and sales falling through due to the EU vote, which in some cases can be misinterpreted as the condition of the national market, as we hear so much about it. However according to the RICS “… we expect UK house prices to rise by three to six per cent over the next twelve months.”

Across our South Manchester offices we have seen a much more positive reaction to the EU vote, well in terms of the housing market. Mainly because Manchester and its surrounding suburbs still have growth left within them. Due to the major investment coming to the area over the coming years, one major investment being the overhaul of Stockport town centre, these investments will strengthen our position as the northern power house.

Demand is still high across South Manchester and it’s not just homebuyers on the hunt for the next property but international investment companies are turning to Manchester and its suburbs for investment and a higher rate of return on their investment, something that they feel London can no longer give them.

So what does this all mean for SK6? Well as the City & Town centre draws more investment and more companies creating more jobs those people will need an array of different suburbs to reside. With our close proximity to the Town centre and great transport links to Manchester we are a perfect choice, which we all saw by the effect the BBC had on us as a suburb when they moved here.

Along with more medium to large scale developments happening, in particular the Dale Road school site and Marple sixth form college, there’s even more in the pipeline to keep up with demand for property in our village.

The popularity of Marple, The Bridge & Mellor has grown significantly over the last three years which has reflected in our consistent growth in house prices of 4-5% year on year. This year we have not seen it slow down with demand for houses feeling at an all-time high, in some cases properties selling a lot over their asking price and open houses with viewings in double figures. This only echoes that we don’t have enough properties to facilitate demand.

This is evident in the comparison figures we have collated for the first 6 months of 2015 vs 2016, which shows the comparison of how many new properties have come to market to how many properties have sold.

This chart shows the difficulties of the market this year with sellers feeling unsure of entering the market until they have found what they are looking for, which has seen a much higher conversion of sales throughout SK6.

In the last 12 months, the greatest number of flat sales has occurred in the £0-£100k price band in SK6 (49.3% of all flat sales). The most common price band for houses was £200k-£300k which accounted for 26.2% of all sales of houses. In that period, the proportion of houses selling in the price band £500k-£750k was 3.8% (0% for flats).

This is the time of year that pupils here in Marple and The Bridge nervously wait for their GCSE and A-Level results. This made us think about the effect of schools on property prices in our area. As you all know, there are many factors that contribute to the value of your home besides its size and location. Things like crime rates, transport links, shops and general amenities all have a noticeable effect on the value of your home. However, proximity to a good local school is one of the biggest ancillary factors, especially for parents. When it comes to buying, education, rather than location, is more often than not the deal-maker for this particular demographic.
Did you know that for some house hunters, the search for a property actually begins on the Ofsted website, rather than with the local agents? It’s no coincidence that property portals have invested heavily in displaying the proximity and performance of schools on each property listing. Some local councils also publish information on schools listed as outstanding, giving the names of streets that fall within the catchment area.
It’s hard to say exactly when school league tables began to have such a bearing on property prices, but there is growing evidence of a strong link between a good school report and the demand for housing close to it. In fact many property hunters are willing to overlook the shortcomings of the property itself and spend beyond their original budget to be in the catchment area of a good school.
The link between prices and school performance is strongest for primary schools because of their smaller catchment areas, which get smaller the better the school performs. However, secondary schools also have a big effect.
We decided to take a look at the properties surrounding the best performing schools across the whole country. We found that on average, properties which were within 1km of a good secondary school sold for 8.4% more than the rest of thehousing stock in 2015. Perhaps more interestingly, these same properties had increased in value by 5.2% more than the rest over the last decade. Now of course there are other factors at play here, but the impact of the schools will certainly be a major factor.

But how big is this impact in SK6? Well, one of the best performing schools in the area for 2014-15 Key Stage 4 results was Marple Hall School – A Specialist LanguageCollege. So far in 2016, the average price of properties within a 1km catchment of this school was £265,000. In comparison, properties within 2km of the school had an average value of £223,600, which is 18.5% lower. Interesting, don’t you think?

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About the blog

This blog follows the property and buy to let market in Marple, The Bridge, Mellor and Compstall. You’ll find insight, commentary and analysis that relates specifically to SK6, along with the latest investment deals from all agents in the area.

jonathan hyde – co author

I have always worked in property and originally opened and head up Julian Wadden Marple. I am passionate about our area, so if you have any property related questions, whether buying, selling, letting out or just curious about what’s happening this very moment in the Marple, Marple Bridge, Mellor and Compstall property market then just pop into my office, alternatively call or e-mail me. I look forward to hearing from you and having a chat.

Jonathan Hyde

0161 427 0755
jonathanhyde@julianwadden.co.uk

alex bailey – co author

I am passionate about property and am fascinated by the ever-changing lettings market here in Marple and it’s surrounding area. If you have any questions about letting, current rental return or yields, tax and legal changes for landlords or anything else BTL related I would love to have a chat. So please pop into our office alternatively phone or e-mail me.